MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM) Shares Purchased by Ridgewood Investments LLC

Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (NYSE:MSM - Free Report) by 102.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,625 shares during the quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC's holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $1,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $216,772,000 after buying an additional 1,256,706 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,567,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $134,859,000 after buying an additional 113,878 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 938,980 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $74,467,000 after buying an additional 61,022 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 918,235 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $79,023,000 after buying an additional 91,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 641,779 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,232,000 after buying an additional 35,077 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSM shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stephens lowered MSC Industrial Direct from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares in the company, valued at $360,199.08. The trade was a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of MSC Industrial Direct stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total transaction of $4,518,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,402,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.30% of the company's stock.

MSC Industrial Direct Stock Performance

NYSE MSM traded down $2.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,331,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,268,704. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.79 and a fifty-two week high of $104.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.81. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.91.

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.13. MSC Industrial Direct had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 6.77%. The firm had revenue of $928.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.90 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

MSC Industrial Direct Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. MSC Industrial Direct's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%.

MSC Industrial Direct Company Profile

MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies.